Inequalities in health status between men and women in the context of sex and gender

Abstract

Recognising sex as one of the important determinants of inequalities between the health of men and women an attention should be paid to two types of dependencies. The first dependency will match the diversification resulting from biological reasons, the second from the socio-cultural ones. Apart from biological reasons arising from sex, inequalities in health between men and women also result from different patterns of behaviour within the social roles, different lifestyles and diversified attitudes towards health and illness, which in turn are conditioned by a wide variety of socio-cultural factors, among which the important role is played by sex stereotypes. Different ways of socialising boys and girls into marriage, family and professional roles, a different kind of social bonds characterising women and men, as well as different personality traits considered typically ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ have a direct impact on the positions of both sexes in social stratification. Education, access to employment, occupation or income further differentiate significantly attitudes toward health and illness. Gender is already shaped during the course of early socialisation and it is supported by social structure, hence the cultural patterns in relation to femininity and masculinity that become apparent in many spheres of social life, also apply to the practice of health behaviours, health-threatening or anti-health behaviours. Men and women have a different approach to health care, preventive care, health-threatening or anti-health behaviours. Sex stereotypes significantly influence the somatic and mental health of women and men.